ObjectiveTo investigate the pharmacodynamic effects of Houshihei San （HSHS） recorded with the effects of treating wind and limb heaviness on muscle tissue injury after middle cerebral artery occlusion （MCAO） in rats through the ferroptosis pathway. MethodsThirty SD male rats were selected and randomly grouped as follows： sham， MCAO， deferoxamine mesylate， high-dose HSHS （HSHS-H， 0.54 g·kg^-1）， and low-dose HSHS （HSHS-L， 0.27 g·kg^-1）， with 6 rats in each group. A laser scattering system was used to evaluate the stability of the MCAO model， and rats were administrated with corresponding agents by gavage for 7 days. During the administration period， behavioral， imaging and other methods were used to systematically evaluate the skeletal muscle tissue injury after MCAO and the therapeutic effect in each administration group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was employed to evaluate the cross-section of muscle cells. Subsequently， immunohistochemistry was used to detect tumor suppressor p53 and glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4） in the soleus tissue. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of p53， GPX4， myogenic differentiation 1 （MyoD1）， nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， Myostatin， solute carrier family 7 member 11 （SLC7A11）， muscle ring-finger protein-1 （MuRF1）， and muscle atrophy F-box protein （MAFbx） to verify the therapeutic effect in each group. ResultsCompared with the MCAO group， HSHS enhanced the locomotor ability and promoted muscle regeneration， which suggested that the pharmacological effects of HSHS were related to the inhibition of muscle tissue ferroptosis to reduce the expression of muscle atrophy factors. Behavioral and imaging results suggested that compared with the MCAO group， HSHS ameliorated neurological impairments in rats on day 7 （P<0.01）， enhanced 5-min locomotor distance and postural control （P<0.01）， strengthened grasping power and promoted muscle growth （P<0.01）， stabilized skeletal muscle length and weight （P<0.01）， and increased the cross-section of muscle cells （P<0.01）. Compared with the MCAO group， HSHS promoted the increases in glutathione and superoxide dismutase content and inhibited the increase in malondialdehyde content （P<0.05，P<0.01）. Ferroptosis pathway-related assays suggested that HSHS reduced the p53-positive cells and increased the GPX4-positive cells （P<0.01）. HSHS ameliorated muscle function decline after stroke by promoting the expression of GPX4， Nrf2， SLC7A11， and MyoD1 and inhibiting the expression of p53， Myostatin， MurRF1， and MAFbx to reduce ferroptosis in the muscle （P<0.01）. ConclusionHSHS， prepared with reference to the method in the Synopsis of Golden Chamber， can simultaneously reduce the myolysis and increase the protein synthesis in the skeletal muscle tissue after ischemic stroke by regulating the ferroptosis pathway.